Today at a challenging Country Club of Birmingham West Course — that hosted the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur — Jackson posted a tournament-low score of three-under 68.
That number got the Germantown, Tenn. resident to two-under for the tournament, and was good enough to make up four strokes on 36-hole leader Patrick Christovich of New Orleans. Christovich, the No. 4 ranked Mid-Amateur in the AmateurGolf.com Mid- Amateur Rankings, had missed a lightning fast birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation, which would have given him the win outright.
"I had that same putt last year to
win," said Christovich in a phone interview.
"It's one of those putts that's so fast you just
have
to
breathe on it to get it started. Last year I
knocked it
15 feet by and made the comebacker. This
year, I
barely missed and still had five feet left."
The two players headed out to the 18th
hole, a
relatively short par-four where Jackson made
an
unlikely birdie from the trees to win it. Forced
to hit
a low punch shot after missing the fairway
right,
Jackson was able to not only hit a deft
approach shot
to the green, but sink a 15-foot putt for his
birdie
(from the low side of the hole). Christovich
had a
chance to extend the playoff, but again had a
downhill six-footer that he slid by the edge.
Joseph Deraney of Lexington, Ky.
grabbed
third place at one-under, while Craig Smith of
Nashville
was alone in fourth at even-par 213.
ABOUT THE BIRMINGHAM NATIONAL
INVITATIONAL
The Birmingham National Invitational, called
simply
the "National Invitational" by the club,
continues to attract a solid field of mid-am
players
and should see its status elevated in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-
Amateur
Rankings, the only rankings dedicated to
golfers
aged 25 and over.